Grease pump



Jan. 17, 1956 w. HARRIGAN GREASE PUMP 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 20,1952 Jan. 17, 1956 w. HAR|GAN 2,731,173

GREASE PUMP Filed Sept. 20, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 2,731,173 GREASE PUMPWilliam HarrigamkutherformN. J.

Application September 20, 1952, Serial No. 310,664

2 Claims. (Cl. 222--227) This invention relates in general'to apparatusfor supplying liquids or semi-liquidssuch as lubricating greases to thedesired points of use under pressure. The apparatus includes acontainer, a delivery hose or pipe, a gear pump for forcing thesubstance being pumped from the container to said delivery hose, and areciprocating pump for ejecting the grease into the delivery hose atrelatively high pressure for transmission to the point of use. I

It is desirable to have in such apparatus means'for efficiently handlingor pumping greases or other viscous substances that are different inconsistency, viscosity, and thickness. Therefore, one object of theinvention is to provide in apparatus of this character novel andimproved means wherein the ratio of the gears of the gear pump may beeasily and quickly changed for the purpose of handling different greases'or other substances.

It is necessary to' include in such' apparatus means for relieving thedelivery ,hose of the high pressure when the delivery nozzle is closedor some other obstruction to the flow of the grease through the hose isencountered; and it has been customary to provide a relief valve in oneof the pump passages for permitting the grease to be bypassed into thecontainer under the specified conditions. These arrangements of reliefvalves are sometimes compli cated and expensive and often are notentirely satisfactory. Therefore, another object of the presentinvention is to provide a novel and improved construction andcombination of a'relief valve and the piston of the reciprocating pump,which shall be simple and inexpensive, reliable and durable, and shallpermit easy and quick adjustment of the pressure generated by saidpiston on its power stroke.

Other objects, advantages, and results of the invention will be broughtout by the following description in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings in which Figure 1 is a central vertical sectional view of adispensing apparatus or pump constructed in accordance with theinvention;

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view approximately on the plane ofthe line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view approximately on theplane of the line 33 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional viewapproximately on the plane of the line 4-4 of Figure 2 with partsomitted;

Figure 5 is an enlarged transverse vertical sectional view approximatelyon the plane of the line 5-5 of Figure 4; and

Figure 6 is a horiozntal sectional view through a gear pump casing bodydetached from the apparatus and showing a gear ratio different from thatillustrated in Figure 1.

Specifically describing the illustrated embodiment of the invention, theapparatus comprises a container or tank A for the substance to bedispensed or pumped.

Within the container A and supported on the bottom thereof is a pumpingappartaus generally designated B which includes a frame having a baseportion 2, a gear pump casing body 3 and a gear pump casing cover 4which ited States Patent P ce has apertures 5 therein to permit the flowof grease downwardly around'the pumping apparatus.

As shown, the gear pump casing body 3 includes a pump chamber 6 in whichare journaled two gears 7 and 8, 'oneof which is mounted on a verticalcounter dri ve shaft 9 which is driven by'a worm gear 10 on the shaft 9meshing with a worm 11 on amain drive shaft 12 which is connected to anysuitable source of power, for example an electric motor C mountedoutside of the container. The pump chamber 6 has an outlet passage 13and an inlet passage 14 which facesupwardly into the container A and hasan upstanding flange 15 at one side thereof. The other pump gear 8 ismounted on a jack shaft'16 which is journaled in bearings 17 and 18 inthe pump casing body and cover, respectively. The counter-drive shaft 9is journaled in'bearings 19 and20 inthe pump casingand the base portion'2 of the'fr'ame, respectively.

Above the pumping apparatus and keyed on the jack shaft 16 is a combinedagitator and feeder D which com prises a plurality of radial arms 21each of which has a depending flange 22 on the trailing edge thereof,said flanges being of such dimensions asto extend throughout the majorportion of the inlet opening 14 and barely clear the horizontal top edgeof the flange 15 as said arms rotate across theinlet.

Vertically disposed scraper arm-23 is secured to the agitator D andextendsupwardly in contact with the inner wall of the container toremoveany grease that may tend to adhere'to said wall.

With this construction, it will'be'obse'rved that when the drive shaft12' is driven, the gear pump will be operated so as to draw the greasefrom the container into the inlet opening 14 and force said substancethrough the pump outletj 13. At the same time, the arms 21 and flanges22 will draw the grease fr'omthe tank and force it against the flange 15and into the inlet :14witha mashing or agitating action on the grease. I

The'p'ump outlet '13-'i's-connected'by a pipe 24 to the cylinder 25 ofthe high pressure pump mechanism E, and a discharge hose 26 is connectedto said cylinderfor'conducting the dispensed grease or other substanceto the desired'point of use, for example to a machine bearing,-thehosehavin'g suitable'valved nozzle 27; A spring closed ball'che'ckvalve 28prevents backwardfiowof the grease from the hose. i p

. Generally, 'the 'geanpump gears rotate 'at slow speed, for example34.5 R. P. M. and force the grease from the tank to the cylinder 25 ofthe reciprocating pump E at relatively low pressure, for example aroundlbs. The reciprocating pump B provides a higher pressure at thedischarge nozzle and includes a tubular piston 29 reciprocable in thecylinder 25 and actuated on its pressureproducing structure by a cam 30on the counter-drive shaft 9. The piston is operated in the otherdirection by a spring 31 which is interposed between a flange 32 on thecylinder and a flange 33 on the exterior of the piston. The pistonincludes a ram jet relief valve which is shown as comprising a ball 34held on a seat 35 by a spring 36, one end of which abuts the ball 34while the other end abuts the other end of the piston, which in thepresent instance is a cap 37 screwed onto the piston.

With this construction, when the pump is operating and the cam 30 isrotated, the piston 29 will be rapidly reciprocated so as to force thegrease from the cylinder 25 through the check valve 28 to the deliveryhose, at high pressure which may be determined by the strength of thespring 36. When the nozzle valve is closed or some other obstruction tothe flow of the grease through the hose is encountered, the spring 36will yield and permit the ball 34 to move away from its seat to allowthe grease to flow into the piston and through openings 38 in the wallsof the piston into'the tanlt A, "thus to relieve the hose from the "highpressure generated by the pump E.

It will be observed that the piston 29 projects from one end of thecylinder 25 so that the .piston can be easily and quickly inserted intoand "removed from the cylinder, and that the removable 'cap 37 on thepiston provides for easy and quick interchange of the springs 36. Thewhole construction of the pump E is simple and inexpensive and providesan efficient combination of the pump and the relief valve.

Another feature of the invention above pointed out is the provision forvariations in the gear ratio of the gear pump, and as shown this iseffected by making the pump casing body '3 easily and quickly removablefrom the remainder of the apparatus so that different casing sectionscan be interchanged. Figure 1 shows gears of one ratio while Figure '6shows gears '39 and 40 of another ratio, but the centers of the gearsand the corresponding openings for the shafts 1 6 and '9 in all of thecasing bodies are spaced apart the same distance. pump chambers of therespective casing bodies will be different to correspond to the sizes ofthe respective gears.

As shown, the casing body 3 is set on the base portion 2 of the frame,and preferably positioning pins 41 are provided for holding the casingbody against transverse movement. The casing body 3 and the casing cover4 are separably secured together by any suitable means such as bolts 42.With this construction, the casing body 3 can be easily and quicklyremoved from the container and the casing cover can be easily removedfrom the casing body. Then, if desired, another casing body can beconnected to the casing cover and set in the tank on the frame baseportion 2.

While the invention has been described as embodied in certain structuraldetails, it will be understood that this is primarily for the purpose ofillustrating the principles of the invention and that the constructionof the apparatus can be modified and changed within the spirit and scopeof the invention.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatus .of the character described comprising a container for afluent substance to be dispensed under pressure, a gear pump having acasing removably mounted in said container and including a casing bodywith a pump chamber therein and a casing cover, two parallel rotatableshafts extending into said casing, one with its lower end projectingfrom the casing toward the bottom of said container and the other shafthaving one end projecting from said casing toward the top of the con-Obviously, the

tainer, cooperating gears in said pump chamber each secured on one ofsaid shafts and rotatable therewith, said pump having an outlet port andan inlet port opening into said container, means mounted on androtatable with said second shaft within the container for agitating saidsubstance within the container above said pump inlet, and means foractuating the first-mentioned shaft, a reciprocating pump including acylinder connected to said gear pump outlet and having a dischargepassage, a hollow piston reciprocable in said cylinder with one endprojecting from the end of the cylinder opposite said discharge passage,a driving connection between said end of said piston and said lower endof the first-mentioned shaft for reciprocating said piston, said :pistonhaving a valve opening and seat facing into said piston from saidcylinder, a spring seated valve cooperative with said valve seat, therebeing a passage from said piston to the interior of said container atthe side of said valve opposite said seat, said valve permitting flow ofsaid substance from said cylinder through the piston into said containerupon creation of a predetermined pressure in said cylinder.

2. Apparatus of the character described comprising a container for afluent substance, a reciprocating pump including a cylinder having adischarge passage, a hollow piston reciprocable in said cylinder withone end projecting from the end of the cylinder opposite said dischargepassage and into said container, means for supplying said substance tosaid cylinder, said piston having a valve opening and seat facing intosaid piston from said cylinder, a spring seated valve cooperative withsaid valve seat, there being a passage from said piston to the interiorof said container at the side of said valve opposite said seat, meansfor reciprocating said piston to pump substance from said cylinderthrough said discharge passage, said valve permitting how of saidsubstance from said cylinder through the piston into said container uponcreation of a predetermined pressure in said cylinder.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSParsons Dec. 2 3,

